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Province Invests in Training to Prepare Mi’kmaq for Good Jobs

by NationTalk onMarch 5, 2012540 Views

Aboriginal Affairs/Labour and Advanced Education
March 5, 2012

Mi’kmaq in Cape Breton and eastern Nova Scotia will soon have access to skills and job-readiness training to prepare for the good jobs opening up across the province.

Premier Darrell Dexter was in Membertou First Nation today, March 5, to announce $640,000 over two years for the Unama’ki Economic Benefits Office. The investment will fund programs that will help ensure people are ready to fill good jobs in industries seeking workers.”One of the three pillars of the provinces jobsHere plan to grow the economy is training,” said Premier Dexter. “This investment will help ensure there are opportunities for people to learn valued skills for good jobs.

“It will also help build a stronger, more diverse workforce because government knows that diversity strengthens workplaces and helps meet the demand for workers.”

The funding from the Department of Labour and Advanced Education will help provide trade and industry specific training and for about 400 people and lead to employment for about 200 Mi’kmaq in seven First Nations communities: Membertou, Eskasoni, Wagmatcook, Waycobah, Chapel Island (Potlotek), Paq’tnkek and Pictou Landing.

“The communities take great pride in this organization and are very much engaged in the operation of the benefits office, through the steering committee,” said Chief Terrance Paul, chair of the board of directors of the Unama’ki Economic Benefits Office. “The benefits office works to understand industry needs and to fill those needs. It’s that simple.”

The premier said programs available through the Unama’ki office aim to prepare aboriginal people for jobs with its many industry partners and the major projects about to roll out in the region.

“Significant, long-term projects like the shipbuilding contract, the Lower Churchill project, the Donkin mine, and development anticipated in the Port of Sydney are all projects that will create good jobs across the province,” said Premier Dexter. “The funding announced today is an example of how the provinces workforce strategy uses innovative ways to help ensure all potential workers are equipped with the skills and training they need to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.”

The province’s workforce strategy helps Nova Scotians to acquire the right skills for good jobs. It also targets groups that are under-represented in the workforce: women, African and Aboriginal Nova Scotians, people with disabilities, older workers, low-skilled people and those who may face other barriers to finding work.

For more information on the workforce strategy, visit
www.careers.novascotia.ca .

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Mi’kmaq in Cape Breton and eastern Nova Scotia will soon have access to skills and job-readiness training to prepare for the good jobs opening up across the province.

Premier Darrell Dexter was in Membertou First Nation today (March 5th), to announce 640-thousand dollars over two years for the Unama’ki Economic Benefits Office. The investment will fund programs that will help ensure people are ready to fill good jobs in industries seeking workers.

The funding from the Department of Labour and Advanced Education will help provide trade and industry specific training and for about 400 people and lead to employment for about 200 Mi’kmaq in seven First Nations communities.